Keep You
by PatriciaRoseLovett
Summary: What do I gotta do to keep you from doin' this to me?


**\A/N: If Rod's out of character, I'm sorry. This is just the way it's going, somehow. The name Mistie is carrying over from 'I Can't Make You Love Me.'**

"You've already got his ring, and now you've come to rub it in my face, haven't you?"

"Rod…" She followed him into his new apartment, shutting the door behind herself, and continued. "It isn't like that, and you know it."

"Then why did you come here? To say you called off the engagement?"

"Don't build yourself up for heartbreak again, Rod," Ricky said from the couch, turning off the TV and looking at her. "Mistie, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you until the wedding."

Rod still refused to make eye contact with her, the woman who had stolen away the man who _truly_ had his heart, and it hurt her somewhat. "I came here to ask something of the both of you."

"Which would be?"

"I came here to ask for your blessing. Both of you. You're all Nicky has left, and I want to know that I have your approval to marry the person that you care for the most. It'll make me feel better."

Rod stood and started towards the bedroom. He didn't want to hear any more of this. She was taking him away and she expected him to _approve_ of it? Ricky could say that he approved of Mistie's marriage to his brother, fine. But he wouldn't do it. He couldn't say yes to their wedding and lose the one man he loved.

"Rod, come back here." Ricky's voice.

But he couldn't.

"I'll go talk to him," Mistie said after a moment. "I have a feeling he really needs to hear what I'm gonna say." She started after him as the bedroom door was shut and locked, Ricky getting up off the couch and following her. "Rod?"

"Go away." He was crying already. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Rod, I know how much my marrying Nicky hurts you. I'm not blind. I see the way you two look at each other, and I know that you two love each other, and that Ricky's a backup for someone to spend the rest of your life with. Nicky's only marrying me because his parents would have been devastated if they would have found out both of their sons turned out to be gay. He didn't want to do that to them. I turn my head to Nicky's feelings for you because I love him and I want him to be happy. If you truly love him, Rod, and I know you do, you'll give your approval and let me marry him."

"Mistie…" He was concerned for his boyfriend's feelings as well as her own. They both knew that she was breaking her own heart by admitting this two days before her wedding, but she wanted him to know her stance on the matter.

"Ricky, I need to do this. Rod, if you love Nicky, let him go. He'll come back. I know he will."

"How do you know he'll come running back?" Rod almost screamed, opening the door. "I don't see you losing the one person that you've ever loved."

"This wasn't easy for Amber, either! She had an extremely hard time coming to terms with the fact that I was getting married to a man instead of her. But she gave Nicky her approval, and as soon as we get married I'm going right back to her. I love Amber with all of my heart, and I know you love Nicky the same. But if you don't want to give your God damn approval of our marriage, and if you don't want to save Nicky's ass, then I'll just go tell everyone the wedding's off and then I'll go marry Amber. If you give it one clock tick of thought, you'd know that what Amber did was the best thing to do in this situation, and you'd give us your blessing. Ricky has. Amber has. Why don't you? I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Ricky."

She started towards the door, pushing past the other man, and went straight out of the apartment, bypassing the elevator and almost running down every flight of stairs to the ground floor. She didn't care if she had Rod's approval anymore. All it mattered was that she had Ricky's approval, and that's all she really cared about right now.

**A/N: I'm really, really, _really_ sorry I haven't posted any new stories or updated any of them since I posted What Did I Do to Deserve This?. I hope you forgive me. I'll write either a second chapter or a sequel (probs the latter), but there _will_ be a follow up. Review with what you think of it. Please? Yay!**


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